ANTIDUMPING, COUNTERVAILING DUTIES & OTHER INTERNATIONAL TRADE ACTIONS Trade Actions       Departments & Agencies       Courts       International Bodies       Legislative

DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES

International Trade is controlled by over 400 statutes administered by over 40 federal agencies, departments and commissions. The most important are as follows:

Department of Homeland Security | Department of Commerce | International Trade Commission | Environmental Protection Agency | United States Trade Representative

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.  It brings together the many departments and agencies responsible for protecting the nation from terrorist threats under a common head.  The DHS has five major divisions, or Directorates. One of these, the Border and Transportation Security (BTS) Directorate, is responsible for maintaining the security of U.S. borders and transportation systems. It is the largest of the Directorates, and is home to the Bureau of Customs & Border Protection (the former U.S. Customs Service). It also includes agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the border security functions of the former Immigration & Naturalization Service, and the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)is the successor to the U.S. Customs Service, formerly part of the U.S. Treasury Department. It is the front line agency that is responsible for enforcing more than 400 laws administered by over 40 other agencies and departments.

Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce is the primary federal department responsible for Trade Promotion and Regulation.  Within it are several sub-agencies with specific areas of responsibility.

International Trade Administration

The ITA is the sub-agency of the Department of Commerce which is given the primary task of administering international trade.  It fosters U.S. trade through various promotion activities and through two sub-administrations.

Import Administration

Import Administration (IA) is responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of numerous trade laws, chief of which are antidumping and countervailing duty.  The IA is the federal authority responsible for conducting investigations and reviews and determining the amount of any subsidy or dumping.

Bureau of Industry & Security

The Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) is the agency primarily responsible for regulating and licensing exports as well as enforcing all export control laws, including antiboycott and public safety.

Patent & Trademark Office

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) is a part of the Commerce Department, although issues involving intellectual property rights in trade matters can also involve the International Trade Commission and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

International Trade Commission

The International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent federal commission charged with certain responsibilities under the U.S. trade laws.  It primarily functions as a fact-finding body of conditions and developments in various international trade segments.  It also is charged with making determinations as to whether a selected U.S. industry is being injured by foreign competition.  This is an integral part of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and Section 201 safeguard investigations.

The ITC is also responsible for updating and revising the tariff nomenclature and the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States in order to ensure that they reflect relevant international agreements and changes in technology.

Environmental Protection Agency

Customs and Border Protection enforces rules and regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  These regulations relate to products which have an impact upon the environment.  Among the most common are EPA regulations on motor vehicles (an area where the Department of Transportation also has responsibility). 

United States Trade Representative

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is a member of the cabinet.  The office of the U.S. Trade Representative acts as the principal negotiator of U.S. trade policy and also is one of the key advisors to the President on trade related issues.